Chapter 139: The Weight of Cosmic Truth
Raven's scalp prickled as understanding hit him. What he had witnessed defied human comprehension.
"Just... passing by? That alone transformed this universe into this?"
"Indeed." Ao's response carried the weight of millennia. He swept his hand through the air with careful precision.
Reality shifted around them like pages turning in a vast book.
The three figures found themselves suspended in absolute darkness. Sickly orbs of light materialised around them. Each one revealed visions that violated the natural order.
Corrupted universes sprawled before them. Worlds had become abominations. Planets sprouted fangs and malevolent eyes, their surfaces twisting into expressions of obscene hunger. Stars burned crimson like congealed blood. Others glowed with the pallid light of rotting flesh. Space itself peeled away like diseased skin, revealing writhing masses of eyes and grasping tentacles beneath.
In these blighted realms, the few surviving life forms struggled against perverted laws. Their existence had become an endless cycle of suffering. Entities beyond comprehension harvested them. They multiplied in desperate resilience, then faced the same fate again and again.
"These are merely the contaminated universes I have discovered," Ao continued. His voice carried the terrible calm of one who had witnessed countless realities die. "Many more surely exist beyond my sight."
The Emperor's golden presence dimmed slightly as he absorbed the implications.
"Complete systemic collapse," Ao explained with clinical precision. "Even the fundamental laws have decayed. Time, causality, and existence itself have all become mockeries of their former nature. The souls trapped within experience perpetual torment in hells crafted from their own despair. No escape exists. No hope remains."
His gaze turned toward them. Vulnerability flickered across his cosmic features for a moment.
"I foresee that my universe will soon face such threats. When those entities approach—" His pause carried the weight of inevitable doom. "Even as a God of Gods, I will prove insufficient to resist them."
"Therefore, I require an ally. One capable of providing support when needed. And, when the moment demands, ending my existence."
Raven's eyes widened "End? You're saying that someday... I'll have to kill you personally?"
"Yes," Ao spoke of his own potential demise as if discussing the weather. "The corruption of a universe's guardian represents the ultimate catastrophe. Once fallen, I would become the instrument of total universal contamination."
He gestured toward the blighted realities surrounding them. "Consider the Taoist Universe you mentioned earlier. It will succumb to madness first. That corruption cascaded through every deity within that reality. They all fell, one by one."
The Emperor's expression remained steady, but Raven caught the subtle tension in his immortal frame.
"Should I display signs of contamination," Ao continued with relentless logic, "you must not hesitate. End me before I become another Contamination Source threatening all existence."
As their alliance took shape, Ao revealed knowledge hidden from mortal understanding. The Contamination Sources defied conventional comprehension. They were entities without fixed form, beyond communication or negotiation. They drifted through the void with purposeless malevolence, seeking only to corrupt and distort the rational order that held reality together.
The Emperor listened with the patience of one who had witnessed humanity's darkest hours. Raven struggled to process concepts that strained sanity itself.
"My alliance with you serves a greater purpose," Ao explained. "You are not yet at full strength. But through Raven's guidance, I believe you will become the most powerful being across all the heavens."
The Emperor's demeanour shifted subtly. The mask of divine authority gave way to something more practical. "Now that we are allies, I'll need complete access to this universe's knowledge base."
Raven couldn't suppress a grin. There it was. Beneath all the golden radiance and transhuman majesty, the Emperor remained fundamentally practical. Always thinking about the advantages he could gain.
Ao shook his head with something approaching fond exasperation. "It's not unwillingness on my part. The universe operates according to immutable laws. Equivalent exchange forms the foundation of all cosmic order."
Even as Guardian of this reality, Ao remained bound by the rules he protected. To break them personally would invite consequences beyond imagination.
"You must alter predetermined fate. Guide the universe toward new possibilities. Only then will you receive corresponding rewards."
The Emperor's expression sharpened with calculation. "Fine, but as allies, you'll provide support, right? We're bound together now, grasshoppers on the same rope, as they say."
"I will ease the restrictions upon you," Ao promised. "I will ensure adequate power to face any enemy within this universe. Additionally, I will constrain those gods and hell-spawn who would oppose your rise. This will clear the path for the Human Empire's ascension."
Raven frowned. "You're abandoning the gods? Won't that weaken the universe's defences?"
Ao's response carried the authority of cosmic law itself.
"The so-called gods are merely spokespersons for universal order. Should they fall, new deities can be shaped from their divine essence. Too many have become inflated with self-importance. They have forgotten their fundamental duty."
His voice took on absolute conviction. "They have forgotten that divinity exists to serve all living beings, not to lord over them."
The Emperor studied Ao with new respect. Here was a being who understood power's true purpose. Not dominance, but service to a greater cause.
"The irony is profound," Raven mused aloud. "How could gods who've struggled so hard to reach their positions possibly accept being servants to mortals? The whole appeal of godhood is the authority, the reverence, the ability to indulge every desire without consequence."
Ao's expression remained firm. "Any deity who obstructs the Human Empire's rise may be eliminated by your hand. You have the right to slay them and install worthier replacements."
The weight of this pronouncement settled over them. Ao commanded every god within this universe. Without his permission, even those who met divine prerequisites could not ascend. Now, he granted the Emperor absolute authority over the celestial hierarchy.
"Why not simply abolish the divine system entirely?" the Emperor inquired, ever practical in his thinking.
"The current structure remains most suitable for this universe's needs," Ao explained with patient logic. "Without ordered oversight, individual worlds risk contamination by external entities. The divine system, while inefficient and bloated, provides necessary protection."
The Emperor nodded slowly. He understood the strategic necessity even if it grated against his preferences.
...
After finalising their alliance's details, Ao prepared to depart. His form began to shimmer with otherworldly radiance.
"Everything within the Prime Material Plane rests in your hands now. The Human Empire's rise may unite this universe's entire strength. If achieved, it might successfully resist contamination sources. Continue your efforts."
With those parting words, he stepped into pure light and vanished.
As his presence faded, frozen time resumed its flow. Reality snapped back into motion with violent intensity. Everything rushed to compensate for the suspended moments.
The sudden cacophony of returned sound overwhelmed after the cosmic silence.
"Mr. Raven, please try this!"
"This one's delicious!"
"No, this is the best!"
The three Primarchs eagerly thrust forward their carefully collected offerings. French fries were arranged with the precision they typically reserved for battle formations. Each sought Raven's approval with endearing enthusiasm.
"Alright."
The Emperor's voice cut through their excitement like a blade through silk.
The Primarchs froze instantly. Their expressions shifted from boyish enthusiasm to transhuman discipline. They quickly arranged their offerings before Raven, then turned as one to face their gene-father.
"Father," they spoke in unison, bowing with synchronised precision.
"Report on the conquest's progress," the Emperor commanded. His tone carried the authority of ten thousand years of warfare.
"Most of the Zakara continent has fallen to Imperial forces," Lorgar reported with quiet pride. "The armies advance unopposed across all fronts."
"We have disbanded religious institutions that refused to acknowledge the God of Fries and Ketchup," he continued. He maintained perfect military bearing despite the absurd divine title. "The temples of false gods lie in ruins."
Perturabo stepped forward with mechanical precision.
"My forces construct floating fortresses to consolidate territorial control and suppress remaining resistance elements. We are fortifying all strategic positions according to optimal defensive parameters."
Mortarion's report covered the otherworldly fronts. The Ghost Realm and Necromancer Plane had both felt the Empire's expanding influence. Imperial mages, armed with knowledge from the Nether Scrolls, were constructing inter-planar teleportation arrays. Soon, the Great Crusade would extend beyond this world to encompass multiple realities.
The Emperor nodded. Satisfaction showed in his immortal features. The unification of Toril proceeded according to plan. Soon, the Empire would spread its wings across the planes themselves.
Just as he prepared to outline new strategic directives—
A piercing alarm shattered the moment's tranquillity.
Valdor burst into the chamber. His usual composure cracked with slight urgency. "Your Majesty—the Githyanki have launched a full-scale invasion!"
The Holy City floated majestically above Silvermoon City. Its magical towers radiated protective barriers across the entire metropolitan area. Massive arcane cannons crowned the towering walls. Enchanted golems stood ready at strategic positions throughout the urban landscape.
When the Githyanki burst through blazing Astral Gates atop their dragon mounts, these defences activated with devastating efficiency. Overwhelming magical firepower erupted skyward, punching through both dragon-scale and rider with ruthless precision.
But then came a roar that shook the city itself.
Dragon Queen Tiamat emerged from the largest Astral Gate, a living mountain of malevolent divinity. Her colossal form dominated the sky.
Five serpentine necks writhed from her massive body. Each head bore a different colouration: crimson, blue, green, black, and white. Their hues flowed like ribbons into her torso before merging into bands of grey, blue-green, and purple, culminating in a murky brown tail.
Each draconic visage radiated unique magical emanations of terrifying potency.
Five maws opened simultaneously. They unleashed streams of elemental destruction that tore through the Holy City's defences like parchment. Defensive towers crumbled. Magical arrays shattered, protective barriers dissolved under the concentrated assault.
In her wake came a host of chromatic dragons, evil incarnate given wing and flame. They poured through the breached shields and spread destruction with predatory efficiency.
Githyanki Queen Valkis descended alongside her draconic allies. Her presence added another layer of supernatural menace to the assault. Soon, this Supreme Warrior would face Mortarion himself in single combat, a confrontation between two masters of death and warfare.
The true test of the Human Empire had begun.
The Emperor's golden eyes narrowed as he processed the tactical situation. His sons had handled planetary conquest with their usual efficiency. But this was different. This was an invasion by beings who understood warfare on a cosmic scale.
Raven felt his stomach twist with something beyond hunger for the first time in memory. The cosmic horrors Ao had shown them were theoretical. This was immediate. This was war.
The Emperor rose from his throne. "Prepare for immediate deployment. All Legions, all assets."
His voice carried absolute authority. "The enemy has come to test our resolve. We shall show them the strength of unified humanity."
The Primarchs snapped to attention. Their earlier boyish enthusiasm transformed into the cold focus of genetically-engineered weapons of war. They had been forged for moments like this.
Outside, Tiamat's roar shook the foundations of reality itself. The true war for this universe's soul was about to begin.
[End of Chapter]
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